A Star Beacon newspaper carrier came to the rescue of a man who spent several evening hours sprawled outside his Ashtabula Township home.

James Reed, of Jefferson Road, said his ordeal could have been longer and with a much more unpleasant outcome if not for Daniel Camp and a friend whose name was not immediately available. “I was never so happy to see a couple of guys as I was to see them,” Reed said.

Reed, who said he suffers from multiple sclerosis, said his ordeal began around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. While trying to transfer from his pickup truck to his wheelchair, Reed fell to his driveway, he said.

Unable to alert a neighbor, Reed lay in his driveway for hours, unable to alert a neighbor.

“I made a big mistake by not having my cell phone with me,” he said. “I was watching the stars move across the sky, so I knew the hours were passing.”

Reed said he knew his hope for discovery rested with the Star Beacon carrier who arrives in the neighborhood before dawn. Sure enough, around 4 a.m., Daniel Camp — accompanied by his buddy — dropped off a paper across the street.

“I just kept flicking my (cigarette) lighter and yelling for help,” Reed said. “They started driving past but then stopped. I’m very thankful they came back.”

Camp, who lives in Conneaut, said he picked up on Reed’s cries for help.

“I was backing out of the driveway across the street when we heard him,” he said. “(Reed) said later he knew we would be around.”

The men were able to put Reed into his wheelchair and helped him inside.

“(Reed) said he didn’t need any medical attention,” Camp said. “He was in good shape.”

Reed was grateful the mishap occurred on a unusually warm evening. “If it had been colder, they just might have saved my life,” he said.

Camp says he was happy to be in a position to help, but a very grateful Reed takes it a step further.